highway

American  

[hahy-wey] / ˈhaɪˌweɪ /

noun

1. a main road, especially one between towns or cities.

   the highway between Los Angeles and Seattle.

   Synonyms:

   interstate, thruway, freeway, expressway

2. any public road or waterway.

3. any main or ordinary route, track, or course.

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highway British  

/ ˈhaɪˌweɪ /

noun

1. a public road that all may use

2. law a main road, esp one that connects towns or cities

3. a main route for any form of transport

4. a direct path or course

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Etymology

Origin of highway

before 900; Middle English heyewei, Old English heiweg. See high, way ¹

Compare meaning

How does highway compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• freeway vs. highway
• interstate vs. highway
• expressway vs. highway
• parkway vs. highway

Example Sentences

The merger will ease highway congestion by diverting more shipments from road to rail.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was a fully functioning ecosystem where contestants slept, ate, played, read and whiled away the hours, built in a stretch of empty field off a Greenville highway.

From The Wall Street Journal

TV doctor, GP Zoe Williams believes that by hacking into the nerve - known as the body's super highway - we can calm down more quickly in stressful situations and build up a level of stress resilience.

From BBC

During a 1987 trip back to Poland, he found that the cemetery where his grandparents were buried had been obliterated by a highway.

From The Wall Street Journal

Photos shared by the agency on social media showed the snow-lined highway littered with boulders and debris and expanses of it buckled and broken.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• artery
• avenue
• boulevard
• freeway
• interstate
• parking lot
• path
• roadway
• street
• superhighway
• thoroughfare
• track
• turnpike